Multikine® Therapy Treats Newly Diagnosed Head and Neck Cancer Patients Before They Undergo Surgery, Radiation, or Chemotherapy
CEL-SCI Corporation is a publicly-traded (NYSE: CVM) Phase III cancer immunotherapy company with operations in the Baltimore area. CEL-SCI develops immunotherapy products for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases, based on the premise of boosting patients’ immune systems while they are still intact to maximize the likelihood of survival. CEL-SCI’s lead investigational immunotherapy Multikine® treats patients who are newly diagnosed with head and neck cancer before they have undergone surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. Multikine® has received an Orphan Drug designation from the FDA for treatment of head and neck cancer patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma. CEL-SCI is currently completing Phase III clinical trials of Multikine®, encompassing 86 clinical sites in 24 countries, in concert with partners Teva Pharmaceuticals and Orient Europharma.
In addition to Multikine®, CEL-SCI is developing its LEAPS™ technology platform as a potential therapeutic vaccine for rheumatoid arthritis. LEAPS™ is a patented T-cell modulation peptide epitope delivery technology that enables CEL-SCI to design and synthesize proprietary peptide immunogens. LEAPS™ compounds consist of a small T-cell binding peptide ligand linked with a disease-associated peptide antigen. The LEAPS™ technology relates to peptide constructs, which may be useful in treatment or prevention of autoimmune diseases, particularly rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, allergies, and host versus graft (or graft versus host) rejection. To develop LEAPS™, CEL-SCI is supported by a $1.5M grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.
In January 2018, the European Patent Office issued a patent for LEAPS™ titled “Method of Preparation and Composition of Peptide Constructs for Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis”. Upon completion of preclinical Investigational New Drug (IND) enabling studies for the LEAPS™-based rheumatoid arthritis vaccine candidate, CEL-SCI intends to file an IND application with the FDA to allow the rheumatoid arthritis vaccine to be tested in humans to determine its safety and potential therapeutic usefulness.
In upcoming news, CEL-SCI Corporation is presenting at the NYC Oncology Investor Conference, occurring on May 8-9 at the office of Wilson Sonsini in New York City. Learn more and register to attend the conference at www.nyconcologyconference.com.